undertaker

CEFRC1

/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person whose job is arranging funerals.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A contractor for the royal revenue in England, one of those who undertook to manage the House of Commons for the king in the Addled Parliament of 1614.

Examples

  • I met with the undertaker at the graveyard.

  • I would hate to work as an undertaker and be around dead bodies all day.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A person receiving land in Ireland during the Elizabethan era, so named because they gave an undertaking to abide by several conditions regarding marriage, to be loyal to the crown, and to use English as their spoken language.

  2. A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.

  3. One who undertakes or commits to doing something.

More examples

In context

  • In 1588, Edmund Spenser became an undertaker in the first Elizabethan plantation, receiving the forfeited Irish estate of Kilcolman Castle.

  • Ziri is an undertaker.

  • The undertaker of the enterprise is usually known today by the French term entrepreneur because we have surrendered the English word to the undertakers of funerals.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The local blank carefully prepared the body for the funeral service this morning.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From undertake (verb) + -er.